In the fabrication of modern semiconductor devices or integrated circuits (ICs), e.g. chips, one or more contact pads (also referred to as bond pads or, in short, pads) may be provided to electrically contact the device or circuit to/from the outside. On the device, a polymer, for example a polymer layer, e.g. a passivation layer, e.g. a polyimide passivation layer, may be arranged. In this context, effective processing methods for the semiconductor devices, for example methods for processing a surface of the semiconductor device (also referred to as surface processing or surface conditioning processes) may be needed to make the semiconductor device, e.g. its surface, suitable for further processing and use.